One-man sailboat



July 2, 1968 R. D. FLOWERS 33901556 ONE-MAN sAILBoAT I Filed Oct. 6,1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVEN TOR.

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July 2, 1968 R. D. FLowERs 3,390,656

ONE-MAN SAILBOAT Filed Oct. 6, 1966 2 SheetS-Sheet 2 I NVEN TOR.

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United States Patent O 3,3%,656 ONE-MAN SAILBOAT Robert D. Flowers, RR.2, skaloosa, Kans. Filed Oct. 6, 1966, Ser. No. 584,881 2 Claims. (Cl.114-39) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to new anduseful improvements in sailboats, and has particular reference to aone-man sailboat particularly adapted for Sporting or recreationalpurposes.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of asailboat of the chara-cter described having novel steering means wherebyboth the -rudder and the attitude of the sail may be controlled with onehand by the boatman when desired, or whereby the rudder can beControlled with one hand -and the sail with the other.

Another object is the provision of a sailboat of the character describedwhich is capable of disassembly and storage in a small space whendesired, for convenience of transporting the same, for example, in thetrunk of an automobile.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, efliciency anddependability of operation, and the provision of a sailboat theoperation of which can furnish a considerable degree of amusement anddiversion.

With these objects in View, as well as other objects which will appearin the course of the specification, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a Vertical sectional view of a sailboat embodying the presentinvention, taken on line I-I of FIG. 2, with parts left in elevation andpartially broken away, and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line II-II of FIG. 1, withparts broken away.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the severalviews, and the numeral 2 applies generally to the hull of the boat. Saidhull comprises a tubular ring 4 of pliable material such as ru'bber orthe like and being infiatable With air or gas by means of fiiling valve6 to give it a firm form and a high degree of buoyancy, and a platform 8of Wood or other suitable rigid material and comprising a fiat circulardisc disposed horizontally and substantially filling the centralaperture of ring 4. Said platform is releasa-bly secured in ring 4,preferably at a level at least slightly above the water level 10 whenthe hall is floated as shown in FIG. 1, by a rope or other pliable line12 wrapped spirally around 'ring 4 and laced through holes 14 formed inplatform 8 at angularly spaced intervals about the periphery thereof,the ends of the rope being knotted together at 16. However, while ring 4is illustrated as having a circular doughnut or torus configuration, sothat platform 8 is also necessarily circular, the ring could also beformed with a generally square, rectangular, oval or other configurationif desired, with the platform 'correspondingly shaped.

The boat also includes a mast 18, preferably formed of a light-weightmetal, which is disposed vertically and is rotata'bly mounted foroscillation about its axis in a bearing sleeve -affixed to or integralwith platform 8,

Patented July 2, 1968 ice and extending both upwardly and downwardlyfrom the hull. It is prevented from sliding vertically in said sleeve bycollars 22 releasably secured thereon respectively above and below saidsleeve. Said mast is divided intermediate its ends to provide an uppersection 18' and a lower section 18", said Sections being rigidly butreleasably joined together by a coupling 24 (see FIG. 1). The mast isoffset eccentrically from the center of platform 8, the direction ofoffset determining what will ord-inarily be the forward end or bow ofthe boat.

A rudder 26 which is generally planar is rigidly afiixed to the lowerend of mast 18 beneath the hull, so as to be disposed vertically in VVaplane containing the axis of the mast. Either the entire rudder, or thelower portion 2'8 thereof as indicated in FIG. 1, -may be weighted, asby being formed of steel or other heavy material, in order to stabilizethe boat by tending to 'prevent capsizing thereof 'in high winds. Justabove the rudder, a sleeve 30 is mounted on the mast, and is releasablysecured against rotation thereon by means of set screw 32. Aflixed tosaid sleeve is a tiller handle 34 which extends horiontally beneath thehull and is then angled to extend upwardly, in outwardly spaced relationfrom ring 4, to an elevation above the hull.

Mast 18 extends to any desired elevation, perhaps 6 or 8 feet, above thehull. Just above the hull, a sleeve 36 is rotatably mounted on saidmast, being secured against vertical movement by a pair of collars 38releasably secured on the mast respectively above and below sleeve, andbeing releasably securable against rotation on said mast by means of aset screw 40. Affixed to said sleeve is a horizontally extending arm 42.At the top end of the mast a sleeve 44 is rotatably mounted thereon andsecured against Vertical movement thereon by a pair of collars 46releasably secured on the mast respectively above and below said sleeve.A hook or eye member 48 is afiixed to sleeve 44, and a pair of similarhooks or eyes 50 are affixed to arm 42 respectively adjacent the innerand outer ends thereof. A triangular sail 52, preferably formed ofcanvas or other pliable sheet material, is provided along its horizontallower edge wtih grommets into which hooks 50 of arm 42 are releasablyengaged, and at its apex with a grommet into which hook 48 of sleeve 44is releasably engaged. Thus the sail extends laterally to the mast, andcan rotate freely about the mast as an axis, as long as set screw 40 isloosened, but is secured in a fixed angular Ielationsh-ip to the mastwhen said set screw is tightened.

In usage, the boatman normally sits on ring 4 at the stern of the boat,this being the portion of the ring opposite to the eccentric offset ofthe mast, with his feet resting on the upper surface of platform 8.Then, with set screw 40 loosened, hecan steer the boat by controllingrudder 26 by one hand on tiller handle 34, and controlling the angularrelation of the sail to the mast by his other hand on arm 42. As is wellknown, the direction the boat will travel is the result of a combinationof these two factors. In this connection, it will be appreciated thatFIG. 1 illnstrates a rather art-ificial position of the parts, the sailand rudder seldom if ever being disposed in coplanar relation in actualpractice, although this relationship is shown in the interests ofproviding a clear and simple drawing. By loosening set screw 32, theangular relationship of the tiller and rudder can be adjusted to theindividual preference of the boatman, as determined by such factors aswhether he is left or right handed, where he prefers to lpositionhimself with respect to the mast, etc. Furthermore, in a boat of thesmall size shown `and contemplated, the boatman can make this adjustmentsimply by lean-ing over and reaching beneath the hull.

If the boatman des'ires to free one hand for other purposes, as forexample to make the adjustment described above, he can, while holdingarm 42 with his knees or some other portion of his anatomy, tighten setscrew 40 to fix the sail in a given angular relationship to the mast.The sail will then be maintained 'in its set position by his grasp onthe tiller, leaving the boatman`s other hand free.

The principal reason for mounting the sail and the rudder on a singlerotatable mast, so as to be adjustable simultaneously by means of tiller34, is to provide a cumulatve steering effect with both elements. ItWill be seen that tum-ing the sail about the mast, or turning the mastitself if 'set screw 40 is tightened, Will tend to turn the boat in thesame direction, since the wind .always tends to advance the boat in adirection at right angles to the plane of the sail, even if the winddirection is at an acute angle to said plane. Also, so long as therudder is on the same axis as the sail, turning the rudder in the samedirection as the sail is turned Will also tend to turn the boat in thesame direction. Thus the turning or steering effects of both the sailand rudder operate to turn the boat in the same direction with theircumulative effect, and by tightening set screw 40 so that both must turntogether, the entre steering operation may 'be brought under the controlof tiller 34. This type of steering operation is useful prineipally onlywhen the boat is running before the wind, and not in tacking, when thesail and rudder generally must be controlled separately.

The type of steering operation just described would not be possible ifthe rudder were mounted on the hull itself, not on the mast. It will beseen that if the mast were centrally located in platform 8, a ruddercarr-ied by the hull at any position offset from said mast Wouldprobably have no steering effect at all, but would simply cause freerotation of the hull around the mast. Offsetting the mast eccentricallyin the platform as shown does provide that the side of the boat 'towardwhich the mast is offset will tend to lead, with the major portion ofthe hull trailing behind the mast, and further that resistance of theboat to movement out of this line would provide some steerage effect fora rudder mounted at the stern. However, this steerage effect would beonly slight due to the limited degree to which the mast may be offsetwith the structure shown, and due to the shape of the hull itself.Moreover, a Stern-mounted rudder tends to turn the boat in a directionopposite to the direction the rudder itself is turned, so that if therudder 'and sail Were connected to turn together, they would tend toturn the boat in respectively opposite directions With cancellingeffects.

Finally, it will be seen that the boat can be disassembled for compactpacking and storage. By removing and rolling the sail, detaching arm 42and tiller 34 from the mast, detaching the mast from platform 8 andreleasing coupling 24 divide the mast, and by detachng platform 8 fromring 4 and defiatin-g and foldin g the latter, the entire boat mayeasily be stored and transported, for example, in the trunk of anautomobile.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention,it will be readily apparent that many minor changes of structure andoperation could be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention as defined by the scope of the appended clairns.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A sailboat comprisng (a) a buoyant hull,

(b) a Vertical mast mounted for rotation a'bout its axis in said hulland extending both upwardly and downwardly from said hull,

(c) :a generally planar, vertically disposed rudder mounted on the lowerend of said mast,

(d) a sail mounted on the upwardly extended portion of said mast andextending transversely therefrom in a generally Vertical plane, and

(e) means for rotating said mast about its axis with respect to saidhull, said means comprising an elongated handle secured at one end tosaid mast beneath said hull, said handle extending laterally to sa-idmast beneath said hull and then upwardly at a position spaced outwardlyfrom the periphery of said hull.

2. A sailboat `as recited in claim 1 Wherein said handle is freelyrotatable on said mast, and with the addition of:

(a) means releasably securing said handle against rotation relative tosaid mast.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,670,936 5/1928 McIntyre et al.114 102 2,876,467 3/1959 Lund. 3,008,442 11/1961 Russell 114-393,021,536 2/1962 Haggerty.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Primary Examner. TRYGVE M. BLIX, Examner.

